چكيده لاتين :
The term "Ataxia" refers to disturbances of body posture and movement
that are normally controlled by the cerebellum, frontal lobes and the
posterior columns of the spinal cord. The primary symptom and the
most prominent feature of ataxia is abnormal gait which is characterized
by lurching and wide base walking.
Ataxia was considered acute, if it had occurred within the two preceding
weeks. Knowing how frightening acute-onset Ataxia is for the family
is not surprising that the condition prompts an immediate visit to the
physician.
Material & Methods:
In view of the lack of information in our country, on the etiology of
sudden-onset Ataxia, the authors enrolled 100 children with the chief
complaint of acute loss of equilibrium, who came to the attention of
the Pediatric Neurology Department over a two year duration
(Sept.2001-Sept 2003); they were admitted to the Mofid Childrens1
Hospital and all necessary investigations were carried out.
Results & Conclusion:
The results revealed that Acute Cerebellar Ataxia was the most common
cause of the problem, the second most frequent being drug intoxication,
which most commonly occurred in patients, 2-4yearsold. The remaining
causative factors in order of descending frequency consisted of
infectious polyneuropathy, migraine, opsoclonus-myoclonus, brain
tumor, acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, multiple sclerosis, and
epilepsy.
